Rose and Matthew

I am happy to tell you that just when I thought I could not add any more babies....I did. I went to a meeting last Friday at the Big O and I went into the infant room and before I knew it I had two babies.

I knew about Rose a long time ago, actually from the time I got Jeannie last November. She has got a growth on her nose (hermiagoma) and just a few months before I met Dr Lisa Buckmiller who had removed a similar growth on Gong Lu, who had gone to the US for surgery. If you would like to see a report about this on the Today show here is the link: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12644600/ The sweetest part about this story is that Dr Lisa and her husband adopted Gong Lu, who is now called Anna. Dr Lisa will be in China again in November and it after looking at her nose will decide what is the best option, with Anna coming too. Rose is such a sweet baby and extremely affectionate. She is now more than a year old and she is so interested in everything that is happening. She has been really well taken care of and is almost 20 pounds ( 8.9kg). If you would like to be part of sponsoring Rose's surgery you are welcome to contact Big Jeannie, as opposed to baby Jeannie, at AnnabellesWish95@aol.com She is collecting tax free donations to cover the surgery costs. Jeannie's daughter Hailey is the one who named Rose.

Matthew is as small as Sean was. I want to take a picture of the two of them together so you can see just what a difference a few hundred bottles can make. He had been abandoned a few days before and he has a black eye. The bruise is fading and there is no damage to the eye. The orphanage has no idea what happened to him but when you change his diaper he winces and is in pain. We have check all his bones and pelvis as per Dr George's instructions and there seems to be no problems with any of that. I hope that he will follow in Sean's footsteps and grow big and strong.

About Michael: I am sorry I was so dramatic. I did not mean to make it sound so completely and utterly desperate. He still has four months and two agencies to go. I was just hoping that he could get a family really soon. It has been quiet because of the weekend but I am hoping that there will be action soon. I will keep you informed.

Well Sean surprised us again. The first time was when he crawled across the room, when no one even knew he could crawl. He walked 14 steps just a few days ago. No one knew he could walk either. Jeannie also walked a few steps yesterday. Rachel is not far behind. Soon I am going to have a house full of toddling little people.

The spina bifida babies Erica and Cailean are doing really well. Chris is now 3,75 kg but he has got pneumonia so he is in the hospital for a few days. Cailean is pick up the poundage and is now wanting to be held all the time or he cries. Erica seems to be in pain when you move her. She has also been vomiting some and Dr Bao is concerned about that. For the last few days she has been laying down and she seems happy like that. The wonderful news: ALL THREE SPINA BIFIDA SURGERIES HAVE BEEN SPONSORED!!! At US$3000 each that is just great. Thank you so very much to all those who made that happen so fast. We are just waiting to hear a date for the surgeries and then we are trekking up to Shanghai.

Love and laughter,
Amanda
Including the 21 little starfishes

--

Starfish Foster Home

http://www.chinesestarfish.org/

http://chinesestarfish.blogspot.com/